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| coal mine |
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| Newcomen atmospheric engine |
In 1712, the first commercially successful steam engine, Thomas Newcomen’s atmospheric engine, was invented. It was used mainly for pumping water out of mines, and did the work of 20 horses. Operating the Newcomen atmospheric engine was expensive, so James Watt improved on Newcomen’s engine. The Watt steam engine came to be more efficient, and is better known then the Newcomen atmospheric engine today.
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| Watt steam engine |
sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/20979973
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/20979973
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/coal_mines_industrial_revolution.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcomen_atmospheric_engine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt_steam_engine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engine
Howdy Amber,
ReplyDeleteIts very smart that you explained why the steam engine was invented, not just when and where. What steam engine is used now? Was the Watt steam engine used in locomotives?
-Robbie
Hi Robbie,
DeleteThanks for commenting on my post! A lot of improvements have been made on the Watt steam engine (and Newcomen's too of course... Watt did the improving!), so the original Watt engines are not used to the extent they were in the 1700's. But some of the preserved (and still working) Watt steam engines are used to do a little of what they used to do, but modern engines do the work most of the time. I do not think the original Watt steam engines were used in locomotives, partly because they were very big (look at the pictures) and probably wouldn't fit.
~Amber
Hi Amber!
ReplyDeleteThe picture of the Newcomen Atmospheric Engine is really cool because it gives me a clear picture of what it looked like and how it worked. Before I read your post, when I thought of steam engines, my first thought was of steam boats. But now I know much more about the history of steam engines. One time when I went on a steam boat, you could actually see the steam engine at work. Was using wood for fuel a lot more time consuming?
You showed the step by step process of creating steam engines really well. :)
-Sujala
Hi Sujala,
DeleteThanks for commenting on my post! I really like the moving atmospheric engine picture too, and I'm glad you found it as fascinating as I did. It's interesting that your first thought of steam engines is steamboats. When I heard steam engines (before I did the research for this post), I always thought of locomotives. Surprisingly, the first use was neither, and it was to pump water out of coal mines. Wood was a lot less efficient, and coal provided up to 3 times as much power!
~Amber
Hey Amber,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you used the little video thing to show how the machine worked, that was really cool! One thing you could have done better is maybe delve deeper, and provide more info.
Great Piece
Alex
Hi Alex,
DeleteThanks for commenting on my post! The "little video thing" is just a regular picture, but it has multiple frames so it looks like a (really short, repetitive) video. I really like it too, and I used it because I though it sort of explained how Newcomen's atmospheric engine worked.
~Amber
Hi Amber,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your quick yet informative post! The gif was very cool to see it what. This was a very important discovery, could you talk a little bit more about how it is used in close to 'modern times', such as boats and stuff?
Nice post!
Harry
Hi Harry,
DeleteThanks for commenting on my post! I thought the gif was cool too, and that was why I used it in my post. Around 1820, steam engines were modified to fit on steamboats and locomotives, allowing people to travel further and faster.
~Amber
Hi Amber!
ReplyDeleteDo you think that when they had to use wood for fuel logging was a big thing? Was steam and coal for wealthy people? Do you think people were always trying to make knockoffs of the first one?
Hi Spencer,
DeleteThanks for commenting on my post! About logging - they had to get the wood from somewhere, right? But before the Industrial Revolution, people probably didn't have machines for logging. Coal was mined, and the miners probably didn't get to take some coal home with their wages, but they could buy products made with machines that used energy from steam engines. Most people didn't have enough money to get the material needed to improve on steam engines, or even to buy their own engine in the first place. The people that could and were interested in it could and probably did, though.
~Amber
Hello Amber,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how much you covered in a quick post. This is really good! I like the animated picture you put in here, it really added a lot. I didn't get the gif part very much, but I think if you added more information on how it was used closer to modern times, it would be easier for me to understand. Overall, GREAT POST!!! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks!
~Sydney
Hi Sydney,
DeleteThanks for commenting on my post! The animated picture is a gif, which is a image format that lets you make a (wait for it...) animated picture. I liked it a lot too, and I put it on my post because I thought it sort of explained how Newcomen's atmospheric engine worked.
~Amber